AlCircle News Edited By "Debanjali Sengupta"
Debanjali Sengupta is a passionate content writer with 10 years of experience in Business writing, Web Content writing, Blogging, Editing and Research. She is responsible for generating and editing content for AlCircle Newsletter and other online and offline content for enhancing the brand value and its visibility among global users.
Nalco to invest INR 17,000 crore for capacity ramp up; INR 5,540 crore assigned for new alumina refinery stream
National Aluminium Company will reportedly invest INR 17,000 crore to enhance its production capacity. Nearly half of the proposed investment will be made in association with joint venture partners. The state-run aluminium maker will invest around INR 6,000 crore on its own for establishing some downstream projects at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district of Odisha, while some INR 5,540 crore for setting up a new alumina refinery stream that is likely to be commission in 2021-22. As per the report, the company has already found the land for its downstream projects and hope to start them within three years of receipt of all statutory clearances. Besides, Nalco will set up a high-end aluminium alloy plant with INR 4,450 crore of investment through joint venture partner Mishra Dhatu Nigam...
Weiqiao Group to assemble 542,000 tonnes of primary aluminium capacity to replace its old capacity
The Department of Industry and Information Technology of Shandong province announced on its website on June 14 that Shandong Weiqiao Group, one of the top aluminium producers in China, would replace its obsolete capacity by the end of the year. As per the report, Weiqiao Group would disassemble 543,000 tonnes of primary aluminium capacity and replace with new capacity of 542,000 tonnes. New capacity for replacement has finished construction and will expectedly come online once the obsolete capacity is removed in December. The disassembling work started in June. Weiqiao will also install new equipment in place of its ageing production lines. It will install 190 sets of high-performing 600 KA electrolytic tanks, while maintaining current capacity.
Incat Crowther bags a contract to design 65-metre, aluminium Korean passenger ferry
Incat Crowther, a leading naval architect and engineering service specializing in catamaran and monohull designs, announced that it bagged a contract to design a 65-metre catamaran passenger ferry, tentatively named Dolphin 3. The ferry, to be built by Khan Co. Ltd. of Geoje-si with marine grade aluminium and operated by Dolphin Shipping Co. Ltd., will reportedly operate in Korea linking between Pohang and the island of Ulleung-do. It will be the first locally-built high-speed ferry on the route. Incat Crowther will work with Khan to develop the construction capability for aluminium high speed light vessels, in compliance with IMO HSC Code and local Korean Register of Shipping (KRS) regulations. The 211.8-metre long vessel will have an accommodation capacity of 710 passengers over two...
Al Bustan Centre & Residence participates in EEG’s months-long aluminium can collection programme
Al Bustan Centre & Residence, the popular hotel-apartment among tourists and businessmen in the heart of Dubai, has reportedly participated in ‘Can Collection Drive’ organised by Emirates Environmental Group (EEG). As per the rule of the campaign, the employees of the hotel apartment vowed to deposit a specific amount of aluminium cans from April 1 to June 30, 2019, in a bid to educate the community people on sustainability, instil values of recycling in them, especially the younger generation, and achieve the objective of reducing waste to landfills. This is a small move taken by them as part of the commitment to the environment. Participants who will be able to achieve the target of depositing the required amount of cans will receive a certificate of participation and also a chance to...
Tesla’s request for Japanese aluminium import tariff exemption granted
The US Commerce Department has finally paid ears to Tesla’s request for10 per cent tariff exemption on Japanese aluminium used in the production of battery cells at Gigafactory 1, according to a report. The California-based automotive company had applied for the exemption on 10 million kg of aluminium produced by Nippon Light Metal Co. claiming that the tariff was increasing the cost of battery cells. The automaker also argued that it could not find the specific alloy in the US to replace the imported aluminium from Japan. While applying for the tariff exemption, Tesla had mentioned that it would require increasing the import amount of the alloy from 6.4 million kg per annum to 10 million kg this year for ramping up battery cell production. It had also described the alloy in the filling,...
A00 aluminium ingot price rises by RMB70/t amidst alumina price drop by RMB67/t
After two consecutive days of decline from RMB 13,920 per tonne to RMB 13,830 per tonne, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a rise today, on June 25, to RMB 13,900 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. This suggests that the price has grown by RMB 70 per tonne today. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,880 per tonne and RMB 13,920 per tonne. Spot aluminium contract is likely to be traded at a discount of RMB 10 per tonne to a premium of RMB 30 per tonne. As the first half of the year is approaching an end, it can be said that until the middle of the last month the A00 aluminium ingot price has shown an upward trend with some intermittent downfalls. The increase in prices was buoyed by the continued decline in inventories. While the price had started the year...
Alcoa hopes to recruit more than 20 apprentices through 2020 apprenticeship recruitment campaign
Alcoa Corporation, the world’s eighth largest aluminium producer, has reportedly launched its 2020 apprenticeship recruitment campaign. Through this campaign, which will run until July 15, Alcoa hopes to recruit more than 20 apprentices. Four-year apprenticeships are on offer in the trade categories – mechanical fitters, fabricators/welders, heavy duty plant mechanics, and industrial electrical instrumentation technicians. Alcoa’s commitment to providing training and various job opportunities during an employee’s career add to the value apprentices place on the programme. For instance, Secret Harbour resident Paige Calvert is a first-year electrical instrumentation apprentice at Alcoa’s Kwinana Alumina Refinery. Human Resources director Kath Soumanis said the company seeks people who are...
Khalifa Port welcomes bauxite loaded Capesize vessel for EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery
Emirates Global Aluminium, popularly known as EGA, announced today, on June 24, that the first Capesize vessel fully-loaded with bauxite has arrived to call at any GCC port at its quay at Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi for EGA’s new Al Taweelah alumina refinery. Using Capesize vessels for importing bauxite ore from the Republic of Guinea saved some shipping costs per tonne for the EGA, according to the report. To enable the Khalifa Port to accommodate Capesize vessels bound for EGA, Abu Dhabi Ports have reportedly modified the approaches to Khalifa Port by deepening it from 16.5 metres to 18.5 metres draft and widening from 250 metres to 280 metres. The Khalifa Port thus turned out the first one in the Gulf being able to accommodate fully-loaded ships. With a draft of 18.2 metres fully-laden,...
China’s bauxite import inches down 4.59% M-o-M in May 2019
After recording a month-on-month rise in April 2019, China’s bauxite import in May declined 4.59 per cent from April to come in at 9.71 million tonnes, according to China Customs data. In April 2019, China’s bauxite import was at 9.77 million tonnes after rising 24.5 per cent from a month ago. On a yearly basis, the bauxite import by China in the month of May stood up by 33.18 per cent, while in April the import volume was up 68.2 per cent from the same period last year. This brings China’s total bauxite imports to 47.03 million tonnes in the first five months of the year. The Republic of Guinea, Australia, and Indonesia remained the top three bauxite suppliers to China. The amount exported by them accounted for 92.12 per cent of China’s total bauxite import. Shanghai Metals Market...
Scania delivers eight new high-end trucks to K&S Freighters for transporting alumina
Swedish manufacturer of commercial vehicles, Scania, has reportedly delivered eight new G 500 prime movers to K&S Freighters in Newcastle for transporting alumina or coke from the port to Tomago Aluminium smelter. The trucks will run around-the-clock for six days in a week, across two12-hour shifts. The vehicles have a fridge, LED headlights, and a rear axle ratio specifically calibrated for the loads that they will be pulling over the mostly flat haul route. “We have undertaken a very detailed specification and build program for K&S Freighters for this contract,” said Scania Australia Fleet Sales Manager, Steven Alberse. The G 500s come with the highest standard of factory-fitted safety equipment, along with additional equipment such as dash and reversing cameras fitted by K&S. The...
Primary aluminium inventories drop 20,000 tonnes over the weekend ended on June 24
According to Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium inventories have further extended their downfall over the weekend ended on June 24 by 20,000 tonnes across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants. The inventories are thus, now hovering at 1.061 million tonnes as of Monday, showed SMM data. Last week on June 20, the inventories of primary aluminium had declined by 37,000 tonnes to 1.081 million tonnes. This indicates that the inventories declined slower this week compared to the previous. In Wuxi, Jiangsu, the primary aluminium inventories today are standing at 366,000 tonnes after declining by 8,000 tonnes over the weekend, while that in Shanghai inched down by 2,000 tonnes to 209,000 tonnes. In Nanhai, Guangdong; and in Gongyi, Henan, the inventories have dropped by...
JAG Berhad ends agreement to explore bauxite mining opportunities
JAG Berhad’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Empire Mining Sdn Bhd to jointly explore bauxite mining opportunities in Pulau Langkawi has been reportedly terminated. The group said in a filing today, "The MoU was terminated in view that the parties could not mutually agree on the terms of the transaction." JAG Berhad is an investment holding company, engages in the extraction, production, and refining of ferrous, non-ferrous, and precious metals through the recovery and reclamation of industrial and electronic waste in Malaysia, China, Japan, and internationally. In March, it had inked the MoU with Empire Mining Sdn Bhd with an intention to extract, process, and produce bauxite on the island. Both the companies had agreed to negotiate exclusively with each other for three months...
US metal tariffs taking toll on South African aluminium and steel products manufacturers
Trade Union Solidarity on Thursday, June 20, reportedly said that the United States aluminium and steel tariffs were hurting South African manufacturers. At the same time it said that ever since the Trump administration granted tariffs exemption to Canada and Mexico, South African exporters of aluminium and steel products came under severe pressure. That’s because the exemption resulted in cheaper prices for Canadian and Mexican aluminium and steel compared to the South African price, pointed out Marius Croucamp, Solidarity deputy general secretary. He particularly said, “These manufacturers find themselves in a dire situation because exports to the US are rapidly drying up. Factories have already started retrenching and it is possible that factories may close down.” He argued that the...
China’s new-vehicle market to remain sluggish in H2 2019 for new State 6 emissions standards
At the Shanghai auto show in April, most of the auto company executives had projected that China’s new-vehicle market would rebound in the second half of 2019. But their prediction seems to be not turning true with Beijing’s resolve to enforce stricter emissions rules and a reluctance to cut taxes on vehicle sales. The sales of new light-vehicles in May also stood low for the 11th straight month, falling 17 per cent to 1.56 million. The slowing Chinese economy, thanks to the US tariffs, is also one of the factors for which the new-vehicle market fails to resume growth. Another direct cause for the slump is the Increasing number of provinces set to adopt tougher vehicle emissions standards ahead of schedule. Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Tianjin, along with about two-thirds of the...
AMETEK to exhibit latest innovations in process surveillance on aluminium production at Aluminium China 2019
AMETEK Surface Vision will reportedly put its latest innovations on display at Aluminium China trade fair, which is to be held in Shanghai’s New International Expo Centre from July 10 to July 12. At the event, the team of AMETEK will exhibit the latest advancements in surface inspection monitoring and process surveillance in aluminium production. As a leading developer of software-enabled vision systems, AMETEK Surface Vision for over three years has been innovating highly-precise, real-time detection, and classification of metal defects, with its market-leading SmartView® surface inspection solution. AMETEK Surface Vision’s SmartView system examines the surface condition in almost the same way a person would do. The system studies the area and compares it against expectations and past...
Further decline of Chinese alumina spot price to RMB2963/t buoys price drop of aluminium ingot
The average spot price of alumina has further extended its fall today, June 21, to RMB 2,963 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. Yesterday, on June 20, the price was at RMB 2,973 per tonne, which indicates that the price today has dropped by RMB 10 per tonne. This marks the second consecutive decline in alumina spot price after remaining restrained at RMB 2,979 per tonne from June 17 to June 19. In east, central, north, and south, the alumina spot price has declined by RMB 10 per tonne and standing at RMB 2,970 per tonne, RMB 2,980 per tonne, RMB 2,940 per tonne, and RMB 2,975 per tonne, respectively. The Australian alumina FOB price has registered a drop by RMB 8 per tonne to come in at US$330 per tonne, as of June 21. On the further downfall of alumina spot price, the A00 aluminium...
ASI issues certification to Hydro’s Paragominas bauxite mine and Alunorte alumina refinery
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative announced that it issued certification to Hydro’s Paragominas bauxite mine and Alunorte alumina refinery against the Performance Standards and the Chain of Custody Standard. The certification covers both the production sites and the alumina from Alunorte originating from Paragominas (or other ASI certified plants). This means Hydro’s certifications have been extended to cover the entire aluminium value chain – from mine to casthouse to extrusion and rolling business areas. John Thuestad, Executive Vice-President of Bauxite & Alumina in Hydro, said: “The ASI certification of Paragominas bauxite mine and Alunorte alumina refinery is an important milestone in our commitment and efforts to produce aluminium raw materials according to the highest industry...
Romania’s bauxite import to record slight dip in 2019 after three consecutive years of rise
According to the global export-import data, bauxite import by Romania is likely to drop 6 per cent year on year in 2019 to stand at 1.7 million tonnes. Until last year, the country’s bauxite import continued rising since 2016. From 986,348 tonnes in 2016, Romania’s bauxite import in 2017 rose to 1.3 million tonnes. This in 2018 increased further to 1.8 million tonnes. As a consequence of the drop in import volume, Romania’s import cost of bauxite is expected to dwindle as well in 2019. Compared to US$60 million in 2018, the import cost this year is likely to come in at US$59 million. In 2017, Romania’s bauxite import cost was at US$1.3 million, while in 2016 at US$35 million. This indicates that Romania’s bauxite import rose year on year from 2016 to 2018. The imported bauxite to Romania...
